Students investigate open space and its importance for the well-being of living things. Students first explore what open space looks like and feels like. Then they investigate why plants, animals, and people need open space. Understanding the role of open space in animal survival helps students connect with the natural world and think critically about how humans and animals can coexist.
This sparks wondering about different ways people use open space and how students use open space in their own lives. Students explore an outdoor area to experience the benefits of open space, which sparks curiosity about the people who maintain and protect open space. The unit culminates with students creating action plans to care for open space at school. By identifying the interdependence of living things to healthy open spaces, this unit lays the foundation in later grades to understand how open spaces can combat the effects of climate change.
“My kids have said, ‘Oh good, I like doing this,’ when we were starting the lesson each day. It’s a great topic. I also think it has made them more curious and do their own research.”
“WOW! What incredible and engaging lessons to do with my students. They loved this opportunity to be scientists, explore and think about the food they eat, and I loved the ways that they began to model. I am so excited about these lessons and cannot wait to share them with my coworkers.”
“This did a great job of piquing students’ interest and sparking opposing points of view, which created lively discussions on the topic.”
“I truly enjoyed teaching this. It has been heartwarming to see them care about other living things and the environment.”
“This is engaging because it uses real data about the state students live in and shows changes within their lifetime, like the rise of warehouses and trucking during the pandemic.”
“This lesson brought in cultural stories from the original people who inhabited California. This is a perspective that is not often taught in science. I think that the kids liked having science be a little less facts and figures and more story.”
“What I find interesting is that students are discussing the material outside of class time. I heard students discussing the ideas before class in the hallways and even during lunch periods.”
“Students really wanted to share their food traditions and look into how climate change might affect their food traditions.”
“I am so amazed and impressed by the depth of resources that you embedded in the teacher guide. This is really well put together.”
“The kids become more engaged because now they are actually actively doing things. They’re really having to look for themselves. It’s not given to them on a platter, but all the resources are right there.”
“Every lesson was so thoroughly designed, the case study design book was beautifully organized, and it helped to give my class a real-life understanding of how college/graduate-level academic research works. Being able to connect their research back to environmental issues they actually experience was simply icing on the cake. Well done!”
“Using the maps and seeing things like schools and how close they are to hazards is really cool. They may not be super connected personally, but they can put themselves in the shoes of other kids and try to relate. I know it’s working because I have a kid that just watches Netflix all day, every day and he pulled out his earbud and participated!”
Colby Lansou, Curriculum Developer
Angelle Lailhengue, Curriculum Developer
Emily Schell, University of San Diego
Roni Jones, Ten Strands
Stephanie Buttell-Maxin, CA Global Education Project
Mary Starr, Starr Science
Matt Ellinger, Designer
Elaine Klein, BSCS
Stacey Lane, Illustrator
Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation
Amy Arcuri, Southern Humboldt JUSD
Elisabeth Eklou-Boccovi, Fremont USD
Patricia FitzSimmons, Rialto USD
Rachel Frisina, Fremont USD
Serena Inda, Round Valley School District
Coreene Kavanaugh, Petaluma City Schools
Anastasia Kodani, Los Angeles USD
Noelle Kreider, Rialto USD
Deb McCampbell, Cotati-Rohnert Park USD
Terri Moore, Los Angeles USD
Carinne Paddock, Oak Grove USD
Lisa Preston, Colfax ESD
Savannah Raskin, Vaughn Next Century Learning
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